Vitreoretinal Interface and Foveal Deformation in Asymptomatic Fellow Eyes of Patients with Unilateral Macular Holes

Abstract

To compare the vitreoretinal interface of the asymptomatic fellow eyes of patients with unilateral macular holes (MHs) with that of the asymptomatic fellow eyes of patients with other retinal diseases and with that of healthy eyes. Retrospective, observational cross-sectional study. This study included 137 healthy volunteers and 929 eyes of 929 patients with various unilateral retinal diseases. We reviewed medical charts, fundus photographs, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomographic (SD OCT) images. The incidence of the features of the vitreoretinal interface and foveal structures in the SD OCT images were compared among the asymptomatic fellow eyes of patients with unilateral MHs (n = 242), age-related macular degeneration (n = 129), epiretinal membrane (n = 185), macular pseudohole (n = 48), rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (n = 68), retinal vein occlusion (n = 257), and 1 of the eyes of healthy individuals (n = 137). Findings of slit-lamp biomicroscopy and SD OCT B-scan images. The SD OCT B-scan images showed different types of foveal deformations associated with vitreofoveal adhesions in eyes without a posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) in the macular area. The incidence of the foveal deformations associated with vitreofoveal adhesions was significantly higher (P<0.0001) in the fellow eyes of the unilateral MH group (17%) than that in the other groups (0%-2%), except for the macular pseudohole group (8%). The SD OCT B-scan images also showed residual foveal deformations in eyes with a macular PVD. The incidence of a residual foveal deformation in eyes with a macular PVD was significantly higher (P<0.0001) in the MH group (32%) than that in any other group (0%-9%). The higher incidence of foveal deformations in the fellow eyes of patients with unilateral MHs with and without vitreofoveal adhesions suggests that patients in whom MHs develop have abnormally strong vitreofoveal adhesions sufficient to cause foveal deformation. The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.